Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States."

I am often asked about the difficulty of researching African American family history. Many seem to believe, mistakenly I might add, that it is next to impossible to trace African American ancestry prior to the mid-1800's. The best response I have seen to this thought was made by Alva Griffith on the AfriGeneas Mail List:

"It is not a lost cause!!!... The first and foremost thing